Saturday, 25 March 2017

Prince Pip has a drawerful of underpants. He loves them all and each day must decide which pair to wear. On his birthday, the decision seems even harder, because when he goes to the drawer, it is completely empty. Crisis! Pip races around the castle asking everyone he meets if they have seen his pants, but no-one has seen them. Pip is not having a good birthday at all. As he wanders back to his room, he opens a door and the mystery is solved. He has found all his pants, plus a lovely surprise. This is a lovely, very brightly illustrated story. The text is lively and spaced out around the pages. There is a plot that will appeal to young readers and a very satisfactory ending.
Pat Thompson

Having a younger sibling can be a little difficult sometimes, but for Jack it is even more so. His little brother is a superhero and everyone thinks Super Stan is amazing! He can run faster, throw further, jump higher and fly. Whenever Jack does something, Stan does it better and Jack is getting a little fed up. Even his birthday trip to the zoo is overshadowed by Stan, until something happens and only a big brother can help. Sharp-eyed young readers will spot the problem and perhaps offer their own thoughts on how Stan’s beloved teddy can be rescued. Lively, expressive pictures convey the humour and action of the story, whilst also capturing Jack’s feelings about his brother’s actions. With their roles reversed, the issues are resolved and the pair become super brothers. It can also provide an opportunity to talk about relationships and feelings about brothers and sisters, as well as being great fun.
Jayne Gould

It is a delight to come across a picture book without words, which is so successful. The illustrations are initially limited to shades of black and grey with a splash of red of the little girl’s coat but steadily grow in colour as she collects the wild flowers she discovers on her walk through the city with her distracted father. There are full-page spreads alongside blocks of movement as the story walks through the pages. The cityscape is cleverly portrayed from the youngster’s viewpoint as she collects bright flowers along the way, together with other splashes of colour in an otherwise drab landscape. The skilful lines portray emotion from sadness to delight as they near home. As they walk, the little girl shares the flowers she collects and spreads the joy of the treasures she has found. This is such a clever and effective picture book with so much to explore and enjoy.
Louise Stothard

Giraffe is really, really bored. To alleviate this boredom, he decides to write a letter and to have it delivered to the first person over the horizon. So, begins a lovely exchange between Giraffe and Penguin, two very different animals who have never met, much less know what the other looks like. The characters are instantly loveable, and the simple illustrations are a gorgeous accompaniment to this tale of friendship, understanding and being different. Already a hit in its native Japan, Yours Sincerely, Giraffe is a quirky, warmly funny read that will delight readers growing in confidence, though it is likely they will want to share Giraffe’s adventures with others, rather than reading alone.
Rebecca Watts

One of Hans Christian Andersen’s less well-known tales has been stylishly presented in a slim volume, also containing the short story The Nightingale. The Wild Swans is a sombre tale of a princess whose eleven brothers have been turned into swans by a wicked stepmother. Elisa will not rest until she can undo the curse that has been placed upon them. The story proceeds at a fast pace, and is happily resolved after pain, trial, risk and mystery have played their part. As she strives to release her brothers from their tragic circumstances, we are given a window into Elisa’s mind - her sadness and her struggles. Beautiful whole page black-and-white illustrations appear throughout the book and there is also a separate story colouring book available. The translated text reads smoothly, and is suitable for a young confident reader.
Lucy Russell

The Great Fire Dogs
Written by Megan Rix
Puffin £5.99
ISBN: 978-0141365268

The story starts when George, an apprentice in the kitchen of Charles II’s palace, comes across a puppy who has escaped from the market on the frozen river Thames. George reckons he could grow into a perfect turnspit dog, and takes him back to the palace. It is 1666 and London is slowly recovering from the terrible plague of the year before. The little dog soon settles in and becomes firm friends with the king’s own lapdog, a King Charles Spaniel called Tiger Lily. As we follow George’s life in the kitchen, and his visits through London to his grandmother and thirteen-year-old sister, Annie, we gain a convincing insight into the hurly-burly of the busy city, and a strong sense of what it must have been like to live at that time. Later, the two dogs go missing in the city, and the Great Fire breaks out. They have a terrifying time trying to escape the inferno before being reunited with George. This is both a charming animal adventure and an exciting well-paced story with plenty of historical content. A delightful read which could be enjoyed again and again.
Liz Dubber

Titles for readers Moving On from Primary to High School

The Power of Dark
Written by Robin Jarvis
Egmont £6.99
ISBN: 978-1405280235

Set in Whitby, this is a tale of revenge for an act that took place centuries previously. The two warring spirits from the past begin to take over the lives of the two children who are the hero and heroine of the story. One of the spirits is determined to destroy the town in revenge for what happened all that time ago. The story encompasses not only the two children and their malign spirits, but strange elf-like creatures who live in caves under the sea, as well as the resident Whitby witch. From the very first page, the story moves along at an incredible speed - the pace never slackening until the outcome of the feud and the desire for revenge is finally settled. This excellent book has a good story that is well told as well as a host of odd, and some frightening, characters. An exciting story with a very unexpected ending.
Pat Thompson

The Girl with No Nose
Written by Georgina Byng
Illustrated by Gary Blythe
Barrington Stoke £7.99
ISBN: 978-1781125694

This must be the only story inspired by a Victorian false nose in a London museum. The illustrations by award-winning Gary Blythe avoid peep show freakishness and present instead a beautiful young girl whose lack of a nose is the least of her. At the circus, a kindly clown suggests that she needs something like his red nose, and soon her parents gift her a china nose attached to a pair of spectacles. Despite her difficulties, she accepts others with problems as friends, helping them to see that the qualities they do have are more important than the ones they lack. She finds fun and love in her life just as she shares it with others. A lovely story showing the transformative powers of kindness and empathy. As ever, Barrington Stoke present it in grey scale, double-spaced print on cream paper to help dyslexics and others who need help with reading. Only eighty pages long but designed to be read and reread.
Tina Massey

In this thrilling new chapter in the life of young surgeon, Ezra McAdam, our hero has left London to meet up with his friend, the feisty Loveday Finch, in Paris. This is not as simple as it sounds as Paris is in the grip of revolution and is a very dangerous place. Ezra and Loveday’s aim is to help the young prince Mahmoud reach safety in Constantinople, but danger is everywhere and it is hard to know who can be trusted. Ezra, who is fascinated by any advances in medicine and surgery, is almost sidetracked by the macabre research being undertaken by Renaud, a French surgeon who is trying to reanimate the bodies that have been to the guillotine, but the safety of Loveday and Mahmoud remain his priority. There is plenty of wonderful historical detail with some quite gruesome information about early surgical practices and research. Although this book is a sequel to Sawbones it can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone story. It is an exciting adventure, with great characters, taking place in a turbulent time.
Jan Lennon

This attractive, well set out dictionary is a superb celebration of words, whether familiar or of Roald Dahl’s wonderfully inventive creation. The explanations and definitions are clear and are accompanied by examples of how they are used in Dahl’s texts - adding depth and meaning as well as encouraging the reading of the original stories themselves. This dictionary can be used in several ways - learning the straight forward definitions of meaning, discovering exciting examples of how words can be invented, inspiring the reader to create new words of their own, or just dipping into and enjoying Roald Dahl’s inventive sense of humour. Quentin Blake’s accompanying illustrations provide a dash of humour, colouring and livening up the text.
(6+)
Louise Stothard

23 Ways to be an Eco Hero
Written by Isabel Thomas
Illustrated by Chris Andrews
QED £8.99
ISBN: 978-1784933418

This hands-on activity book for budding eco-heroes is packed full of exciting ways to help save the world from environmental damage. Each project is classified as to whether it is suitable for indoors or outdoors. Wildlife warriors are invited to plant trees, build ponds and make bird tables. Those without gardens can still take a full part as waste zappers or green machines, by making bins from cardboard and plastic, growing salads and herbs from waste food, or fashioning bags from an old pair of jeans. This is a great book designed to encourage children to reuse and recycle by getting them involved in twenty-three exciting activities. With adult supervision clearly marked and a list of websites to further interest in environmental issues, it is sure to provide hours of fun with a very worthwhile result. (8+)
Richard Monte

What on Earth? Water
ISBN: 978-1784935542
What on Earth? Wind
ISBN: 978-1784935535
Written by Isabel Thomas
Illustrated by Paulina Morgan
QED £8.99 each

Lively, flowing text and colourful illustrations introduce older primary school children to the everyday wonders of wind and water. Water, the book tells us, is the only substance in the world that can be solid, liquid and gas at normal temperatures. Easy-to-follow experiments show you how to make an iceberg, and even a cloud in the glass jar. Essential science subjects are covered too, such as the water cycle and why water is so important to your body. The book about wind tells us from where this natural phenomenon comes, then goes on to look at how mankind has harnessed the wind for sailing ships and in wind turbines, and how we use the wind for sport. It even discusses wind on other planets. Informative and interesting. (9+)
Paul Dowswell